BAR Previews the Dayan Collection

The heart of Dayan’s collection encompasses the period from the Chalcolithic era in the fourth millennium B.C. through the Israelite period, first millennium B.C. It includes many unique and priceless pieces from those eras, notably anthropomorphic (human-shaped) and zoomorphic (animal-shaped) pottery, the spectacular Gaza sarcophagi with anthropoid covers, as well as numerous rare cult objects and figurines in an excellent state of preservation.

“Dayan was interested in very specific periods,” says Meshorer. “He wasn’t excited by the Crusader or Byzantine or Roman periods. He was interested in local civilizations with local roots. In fact, the bulk of his collection stops at the destruction of the First Temple in 586 B.C.”

A brief chronological survey will illustrate the scope of the collection, while touching on some individual treasures, the diadems of the collection.